ASHWAUBENON – Colt Andrews was minus-69 years old the last time Don Hutson caught a football for the Green Bay Packers . Andrews, who is 10, caught a Greg Jennings-signed football Friday because of Hutson.
Andrews, who lives a couple blocks from Lambeau Field, attended the Packers watch party at Titletown with his dad, Jeremy. The Packers played the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil, the first NFL game to be played in South America.
Hundreds of Packers fans came to Titletown for the party, which began with live music by the band Road Trip. That was followed by Q&A sessions with former Packers receivers Greg Jennings and James Jones, interspersed with prize giveaways. Enter Colt.
The emcee asked if anyone was wearing Bart Starr jerseys and of course a number of people were. She then asked if there were any jerseys of older players, throwing out the name of Don Hutson, who last played in 1945. She seemed a little surprised when Colt's hand went up. He stepped up to the stage to claim his prize, seemingly a little surprised himself.
"We'll put that in my Packers man cave," said dad Jeremy.
The Andrews live close to the stadium, but fans came from as far as Hawaii, Costa Rica and Portland. There were even a couple of Eagles jerseys among the gathering.
Ann Kennedy of Waukesha and Debbie Kopf of Hales Corners drove to Ashwaubenon on Friday just to attend the watch party. They weren't entirely sure they could watch the game without signing up for Peacock, but more importantly, "it just sounded like a lot of fun," Kennedy said.
With blankets spread out from the base to the top of Ariens Hill, it brought to mind, for those old enough to know, a drive-in movie theater.
Kennedy and Kopf, however, found a table near the base of the hill. They agreed that one of the things Packers fans like the most is to be around other Packers fans. Kennedy said she was at Brett Favre's induction into the Packers Hall of Fame, which famously drew 60,000 people to the Lambeau Field bowl who could not get into the banquet.
"It beats being at home," said Jamie Behrens of Green Bay, who sat near the top of Ariens Hill with Steve Gunnlaugson. "I love free events. We've come to the free concerts, too."
Tarmara Shortess grew up in Racine, but her parents brought her to training camp every year, inoculating her against Bear-fan-ism. "It's just a nice family offering," said Shortess of Kaukauna. "It's free and it's Packers."
As the sun set in the west, behind Ariens Hill, the view of the large TV screen improved. Even from the top the hill, the picture was big enough and the sound clear.
"I was a little hesitant to see what the screen was like," said Joel Barta of Suamico. "It's a nice crowd. A nice family event. We like to come down to the Titletown area for pre-games. We don't usually get tickets, but we like the excitement and the crowd."
Fans were hopeful the Packers would win on Friday, but also feeling some uncertainty.
"I really want to say the Packers, but I don't want to jinx it," Behrens said.
Barta agreed. "The fan in me says they are going to win, but I'm still nervous," he said. "They have to start faster this season than they did last. They are not going to sneak up on anybody."
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG .
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers watch party at Titletown draws hundreds of fans for season opener against Eagles
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